Rohrbach Brewing Company

3859 Buffalo Road, Gates
Visited July 24, 2010
Written by Tyler




Even though Rohrbach’s is famous around the area for its in-house microbrewery, winning a Rochester’s Choice Award for best local beer six times. Of course, I should add, none of us are 21 yet anyway, so we can’t provide any insight on the homemade beverages, but we’ve found ourselves returning for its food frequently in the last year.

Located on a relatively quiet stretch of Buffalo Road near the three-town border of Gates, Ogden and Chili, Rohrbach’s is one of very few restaurants in the Rochester area that has a German-based menu, and its interior appearance is designed like a German bar, providing what seems like an authentic experience.

I jumped on the Rohrbach’s bandwagon after my first visit with my parents, four years ago. It took me a while to return, but I’ve been back five times in the last year.

Because of Greg’s obvious German heritage, like me, I know he’d love Rohrbach’s. After his first visit, last summer, it instantly vaulted toward the top of his favorites.

On this visit I opted for the Railroad Street Ham & Cheese; smoked ham with melted Swiss cheese on pretzel bread with a side of honey mustard. As I said in the Krony’s review, I love pretzel bread, which is hard to find around here. It made my decision not to get a giant Munich Pretzel, which I often get at Rohrbach’s, much easier.

The sandwich seemed a little bit drier than the last time I had it, but the delicious honey mustard cured any semblance of a problem there. The price ($6.95) seemed kind of steep, although it did come with a choice of a side.

For my side dish, I opted to drop an extra $2 on my obligatory cup of White Chicken Chili. This is, without a doubt, the best chili I’ve ever eaten, and I get it every time I go to Rohrbach’s. It’s perfectly hearty – with chunks of chicken, plenty of white beans, plus bell peppers, onions, shredded cheese and tortilla chips – perfectly creamy and has a nice, sinus-clearing kick to it.

I let my mom – who had tried a few different white chili recipes at home, to no avail – have a taste of it last time I was here. Blown away by its tastiness, she immediately asked, “Why can’t I make mine like this?”

Greg was also amazed by the white chili the first time he tried it, and has become a regular consumer of it as well.

“The chili was excellent as always,” Greg said. “Creamy, full of flavor, laden with ingredients… my standard for white chili.”

For his entrée, Greg had the Park Ave. Panini, with roasted turkey, cheddar cheese, lettuce and cranberry mayo on hot-pressed Panini bread, along with a side of fries.

“The bread was excellent, cooked just right in my opinion; crispy, but not crunchy,” he said. “The cranberry dressing was delicious with the turkey, and it was pretty filling. The fries I liked, too. They were battered, which is always nice.”

Chad ordered the most authentic German meal of all us, opting for grilled bratwurst with sauerkraut and German potato salad. He said the bratwurst was very tasty and spiced to perfection; clearly much more than a generic Johnsonville brat.

Drew ordered the Swillburg Pork Sammie, a pulled pork sandwich, which is his usual meal at Rohrbach’s. Clearly, he enjoys Rohrbach’s pulled pork; even more so because it came on a Martusciello’s roll, arguably the best in Rochester. The sandwich came with fries, which, like Greg, Drew enjoyed because they were battered and crispy.

He also got a cup of Cheddar Highland Soup; made from sharp cheddar, Rohrbach’s own Highland Lager and smoked bacon bits. Drew isn’t much of a soup guy, but he like this because it was so unique.

Joe and Tim also enjoyed their meals; Railroad Street Ham & Cheese and a Bourbon Burger (pictured), respectively.

Rohrbach’s is a bit pricier than most restaurants we have reviewed, with decent portion sizes, but it never seems to bother us.

“My meal … was just over $10 and it was well worth it,” Greg said. “(It was) quite filling. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad value by any means.

“I’m not sure there is a menu item I wouldn’t eat. The food brings me back.”

We unanimously agreed that the service was outstanding. Our server was friendly, informative, quick, and even remembered all our orders without writing them down. We also had a relatively short wait for our food to arrive.

The atmosphere was enjoyable as well. It primarily has a German feel, with its bar and décor, but also has some sports-bar and casual elements.

“It’s just good, reasonable, and it’s a relaxing place to eat a meal,” Greg said.

It must be good, based on our standards, because there are very few places we have returned to as often recently.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: The service is phenomenal, among the best we’ve had, and the comfortable atmosphere goes a long way toward making this one of our favorites.

Food: German centered, but diverse overall. All the food is great, nonetheless. There aren’t many other places around where you can get authentic German food, like Chad’s bratwurst.

Value: “A tad pricey, but you get what you pay for,” Greg said, which I agree with. Like I said, we keep coming back, so price obviously isn’t much of a hindrance.

Overall: Food is very good, including many authentic choices. Outstanding service and great atmosphere. Given how often we return, we can comfortably say it’s one of our top favorites.

Grade: A-

Joe's Brooklyn Pizza

1100 Jefferson Road, Henrietta
Visited July 31, 2010
Written by Drew



Five (of us) guys headed to Marketplace Mall Saturday afternoon and figured we should cross another place off the list, even if it is in the gray area. Despite our chance at acting out a pun by all going to Five Guys Burgers and Fries (a national chain, mind you), Tyler, Jake and I filed in to neighboring Joe’s Brooklyn Pizza, while Joe and Greg went to Five Guys.

Joe’s, Five Guys and Moe’s Southwestern Grill (also a chain) share one building in the front of the parking lot to Henrietta Plaza on Jefferson Road, across the street from the Doubletree Hotel. I heard good things about Five Guys and really wanted to go there, but looking back on it I was glad I went to grab a few slices of pizza instead.

As we walked into the restaurant, we passed a couple, with one of them holding her stomach saying ‘that wasn’t a good thing to do,’ so right off the bat I was nervous about what I was getting into.

We went in the afternoon, so it wasn’t busy at all. We went right up to the counter and looked at the pizzas they had out to order slices from. After placing our order, we only had to wait about two minutes for our slices to come out of the oven.

I ordered two slices of Brooklyn-style pizza; one pepperoni and the other Buffalo chicken. Both slices were fairly large in size; if I had eaten breakfast that morning, I don’t know if I would have been able to finish them.

I am personally a huge fan of Brooklyn and/or New York-style pizza. As I always say, I prefer my food folded over. If I can fold it I will be much happier. And that is exactly what I did. After taking my first bite, something stood out that I haven’t really experienced too much with pizza before: the bottom of the pizza was perfectly golden in color and didn’t have corn meal or flour on it, just very small air bubbles. The bottom was so thin and crisp it was almost like biting into a tortilla chip. The crust was just the same way, perfectly crisp, and very enjoyable to eat.

Tyler went a different route and ordered a Sicilian (thick)-style cheese slice. Joe’s carries the Brooklyn-style crust in medium and large pizzas and the Sicilian in sheet pizzas. Tyler had a middle piece of a sheet pizza, so he didn’t get the pleasure to sampling the outer crust.

“My slice here was thick and reheated to a pleasant crisp,” he described. “The sauce was good and the interior was soft enough, with a perfect crisp on the outside.” He also grabbed a cinnamon knot for 75 cents, which he explained that it was better than it looked and was similar to the pizza crust he tried.

Jake also ordered a slice of Brooklyn-style Buffalo chicken pizza and enjoyed it as well. Jake said his Buffalo slice was tastier than any similar slice he's had before, and he gets Buffalo chicken pizza often. He added the sauce had a slightly sweet taste that made it stand out, and it was crispy and not too thick, but not too thin either.

There was one last thing that stood out when we were in there. The menu was relatively small; Brooklyn-style pizza, Sicilian –style pizza, six types of specialty pizza, chicken wings (in regular or Buffalo hot only) and calzones.

“The small menu shows they probably put a lot of focus in to their pizza,” Tyler explained, and I think he couldn’t be more right. I didn’t mind the small selection, but I did think it was kind of pricey. My meal, which consisted of two slices of pizza, a cup of blue cheese and bottle of water cost $8. But you pay for what you get, and it was really good.

Tyler had read a lot of reviews of Joe’s online prior to our visit. Many of them raved about it, but complained about rude service. We experienced none of that. The service was friendly and very quick. The atmosphere was pleasant as well; it didn’t replicate a Brooklyn feel outside, which is difficult to do, even in overdeveloped Henrietta, but had a fitting New York feel on the inside.

We all raved about our respective slices, and were all especially pleased with the crispiness of them. Much of the crispiness on our slices was due to them being reheated, so we are interested to see what a fresh pizza from Joe’s is like. I’d imagine it would still be crispy enough, and the fresh taste would probably make it even better than the great slices we already had. If the other reviews are right, it should be among the best pizza in Rochester.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: Very neat restaurant with friendly and quick service. You can actually see the food before you order it, so you can actually ordered what you want.

Food: The individual slices were good, but both Tyler and I would like to go back and order a fresh, full-sized pizza.

Value: Relatively pricey, but you definitely get what you pay for.

Overall: One of the best pizza slices around.

Grade: B+

Hose 22 Firehouse Grill

56 Stutson Street, Charlotte
Visited July 1, 2010
Written by Tyler

Hose 22 is a restaurant straight out of the Rochester history books, set in a former firehouse on the city’s northern tip. The building had been vacant since 1962 until renovations began in late 2007, with the restaurant opening last fall. From what I’ve heard, business has been good and the reviews have been decent as well.

I went with my family a few weeks ago as we celebrated my birthday. My mom had eaten here before and really enjoyed it.

A proud American will enjoy this place, as the cuisine is mostly American and the décor is basically all firefighting equipment. Even the original fire pole remains intact.
(Image courtesy of rochester.metromix.com)

The place was fairly busy, but we had reservations. The service was kind of slow, but we had an appetizer to sustain us for the time being.


Our platter of Firehouse Nachos was pretty good. The freshly made tortilla chips were warm and covered in a “blend of melted cheeses,” topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and jalapenos, plus we added pulled pork on top. It was a lot to handle, but we polished it off. You can get such a dish at most similar restaurants, but the tasty blend of cheeses and warm chips really set these apart.

We had a relatively long wait for our food. This was somewhat understandable because it was pretty crowded, but still longer than I would have thought. My mom promised us they would bring us free bread and butter and some point, which we finally asked for and received about a minute before our meal came. This was probably a good thing, because the bread was incredibly dry and boring, even though my mom said she had great bread last time she ate here.

I ordered a bowl of chicken chowder, which was very similar to white chili, one of my favorite dishes. The soup was fairly creamy and had a decent kick to it, but wasn’t nearly as hearty as I’d hoped for, especially lagging in chicken. Other than that it tasted fine, but was too thin and wasn’t as all-around good as other, similar soups I’ve had elsewhere.

My grandma had a five-cheese penne pasta topped with grilled chicken, which she enjoyed for the most part. I sampled it myself and it was indeed very cheesy, but I enjoyed the chicken in it.

Jake ordered Cajun wings, which ended up being overwhelming for him, not even finishing one before deciding they were too spicy. He returned them and got Buffalo-style wings instead, which he only ate a few of and didn’t care for either. I wish I would have tried one of the Cajun wings before Jake returned them, because the coating and seasoning was different than anything I’d seen before and actually looked quite appetizing. Oh well.

My mom had the Hose 22 Salad, which included roasted tomatoes, red peppers, artichoke hearts, spaetzle noodles and feta cheese with house balsamic dressing. This salad was basically the reason my mom suggested Hose 22 for this occasion, as it is one of her all-time favorites and she enjoyed it yet again.

My dad had the Back Draft Chicken Sandwich, which is blackened grilled chicken with peppers, onions, pepper jack cheese, lettuce and tomato. He said it was “fair,” but not nearly as good as similar chicken sandwiches at places, namely the Dakota Grill in Hilton. He did enjoy his side of French fries more, however, because they were freshly cut.

I sampled a bite of my dad’s sandwich and, being somewhat of a connoisseur of grilled chicken, I thought it was pretty good. I agree with my dad; it isn’t among my top two or three, but it is something I’d eat again.

My sister had macaroni and cheese, which was much fancier - more of an actual pasta - than your basic Kraft dinner. It had penne with a blend of Asiago, cheddar jack and mozzarella cheeses, along with a bread-crumb topping, which she said was good.

Hose 22 is said to have very good pizza. It has five on the menu, and all are what I’d consider ‘specialty’ pizzas; Buffalo Chicken, Barbeque, White Florentine, Margherita and The Downtime Specialty (alfredo-based white pizza with sausage).

I am interested in going back soon to try out a chicken dish of my own – because I saw some promise there – as well as a pizza.

Our reactions to our visit to Hose 22 scaled one extreme to the other in terms of food. We all agreed the service wasn’t terribly fast, but it certainly has a nice atmosphere. There is a lot of potential for this restaurant – which hasn’t even been open a year yet – to be special. Business has been great thus far and the firehouse setting makes it a true novelty.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: The service wasn’t great, but it was fairly crowded, especially for being a Thursday night. The atmosphere is great; a unique slice of history.

Food: A hit for some of us; a complete miss for others (Jake). All around the food is good, and there are several interesting items on the menu I’d love to try, namely the pizza.

Value: The portion sizes are decent, but the prices are expensive relative to the other restaurants we reviewed.

Overall: A unique, historic novelty with potential to be a popular and respected restaurant.

Grade: B-

Visit online: www.hose22.com

Minnehan's Restaurant

5601 Big Tree Road, Lakeville
Visited July 22, 2010
Written by Drew



About once a year, I make my way down to Minnehan’s Fun Center in Lakeville with high hopes of leaving there with a smile on my face. I mainly go down there for the attractions (go-karts, mini-golf, batting cages, etc.), but usually every time I go, I stop into their restaurant to grab a bite to eat. Reflecting back on my visits to Minnehan’s, the food is generally unmemorable.

The restaurant and fun center are located in the same lot on the corner of routes 20A and 256 in Lakeville, less than three miles west of Livonia.

Tyler and I recently went down there with four busloads of kids on a trip for work. We both ate in the restaurant when we had breaks, which happened to be at different times from each other.

Tyler ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, which he said was very generic.


“The marinade didn’t add much to the sandwich,” he said. “I had to dip it in barbecue sauce to get some flavor.”

He added the size of the chicken breast was very small despite being on a normal-sized roll. He also a bit displeased baked beans weren’t available as a side dish. Though he said his service was friendly, he thought it could have been speedier.

“It wasn’t as fast as your typical quick-service place... especially considering I got just a sandwich,” Tyler said, noting he waited about 10 minutes after ordering to receive his food.

I walked in about an hour later to order my lunch. I was very rushed, not because of my limited time I had on break, but because the guy behind the counter rushed my order. He made it seem like it was an inconvenience to serve me.

So in a bit of a panic, I just ordered what the person in front of me ordered: a chicken finger dinner, with a large chocolate milkshake to drink. After ordering I also had to wait a good 10 minutes for my meal. Upon receiving my order, I walked around the restaurant trying to find a seat and noticed most of the tables were dirty. I ended up outside, sitting with the rest of my co-workers who were on break.

My chicken finger dinner consisted of four normal-sized pieces of chicken on top of very generic and mushy pile of French fries. I was thoroughly disappointed in the fact that they didn’t offer me any type of dipping sauce for my chicken fingers. My large chocolate milkshake wasn’t much of a shake at all. It was a very thin shake, with almost a chocolate-milk consistency.

Our co-workers, Dan and Dustin, both ordered Minnehan’s version of cheeseburger garbage plates, with French fries and macaroni salad. Dan said the macaroni salad was the best part of it, while the fries were average and the burgers were a bit overcooked and. Dustin just said, “(It was) definitely just an average plate; nothing special.”

The menu isn’t terribly extensive and everything is just typical diner fare. Minnehan’s also makes pizza right there and has an accompanying ice cream shop, which adds a little variety.

All in all, I had a great time at Minnehan’s. I took a few rounds in the batting cage, a few rides on the go-karts and wasted a few dollars in the arcade. But once again when it comes to the food, it was very plain and unmemorable.


Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: Minnehan’s is geared towards family fun, which its attractions provide. But every time I’ve been there with my family, we do not have fun eating. Relatively long wait time and average food, with the prices not compensating for its genericness. I still can’t still get over the fact that it was an inconvenience to be waited on.

Food: Quality of the food wasn’t great. Everything was very generic.

Value: Very average price, but not enough bang for the buck.

Overall: Just a run-of-the mill diner; very average in every category. We wouldn’t go out of the way to eat here, and maybe next time we stop down at Minnehan’s, we will travel the extra few miles to Livonia or Geneseo for a meal. We love Minnehan’s Fun Center, which is a great value, though.

Grade: C-

A few notes...

After reflecting on all the places we have been to and consulting our grading standards, we decided our grades for a handful of restaurants needed to change slightly.

General Hoock's has blown away the rest of the competition and has even surpassed our beloved HFR, which we plan to revisit and re-evaluate soon.

DiBella's fell to an A-, simply because we haven't been back there nearly as many times as we've returned to Hoock's.

Yumbo's dropped from an A- to a B+ because it seemed closer to the category of our other B+ rated restaurants, not quite on the same level as places like Tully's and DiBella's.

In the same regard, the Arlington was changed to a B, not quite reaching the heights of our visits to places like Abe's and Krony's.

Recently a lot our reasoning behind the grades has been based on how often we would return to each place. With the updated grades, we are more comfortable with each assessment and feel they are now more consistent with our standards.

Martusciello's Bread

2280 Lyell Avenue, Gates
Visited July 17, 2010
Written by Drew



Gates is known for its handful of Italian bakeries and delis. One of the most popular is Martusciello’s, which is widely regarded at having the best bread on the west side, if not the entire area.

This past weekend Tyler, Joe, Ryan, Greg and I planned an expedition called the “Tour de Gates,” in which we sampled items from the various Italian places. This plan was much to Joe’s delight, as he often tries to impose his half-Italianness on us.

Things went awry as soon as Greg misinterpreted the menu at our first stop, Savastano’s, and became puzzled on how to order food at an Italian bakery.

Frustrated, Greg and Ryan went to Steve T’s because they didn’t find it necessary to try a new place for the sake of the blog. Speaking for Tyler, Joe and myself, we were all glad we stuck to the plan. I had one of the best meals thus far since we started this blog.

We only ended up getting a small slice of pizza to split from Savastano’s and didn’t end up going to the other places we planned on, so we decided to review Martusciello’s exclusively on this trip.

Pulling in, Joe was excited because there was a fire truck in the parking lot. We walked in and there they were; eight or so fire fighters all eating lunch at Martusciello’s. Firemen in an Italian bakery on a Saturday nearly brought tears to Joe’s eyes.

There was somewhat of a lengthy line but as soon as I made up my mind, I hopped right in line and placed my order within minutes.

Going off of a suggestion from Joe’s father, I ordered a large sub. In typical Drew fashion I ordered a very basic one with turkey, American cheese and mayonnaise. The sub was cut in half and came in a Styrofoam box. The lid of the box wouldn’t even come close to closing all the way; the sub was just piled up too high.

But what is inside this sub isn’t nearly as important as the bread. Martusciello’s bakes all of their own bread products themselves. The roll was great! If I wanted to I would just eat their bread.
Tyler pretty much did just that.

He purchased a bag of dinner rolls from their bakery. One dozen softball-sized rolls filled up a bag for $2. The rolls were soft and perfectly chewy, with a uniform, very light-golden color all around. Tyler, being the generous guy he is, passed the bag around to all the guys and offered them a roll in turn for their opinion for our blog. Joe and I turned down his offer because we were all ready eating our subs which consisted of similar freshly baked bread.

The rolls used in the subs were 100 percent amazing; perfectly golden roll, both on the top and on the bottom. The inside of it was very light and airy, but not overly airy where there wasn’t anything to it.

Tyler’s family has had several loaves of both the Italian and French breads from Martusciello’s the last several years. He said the soft, chewy outer crust and lack of airiness make the bread stand out among others of its kind in the area.

As for Joe’s sub, he ordered a medium roast beef with provolone cheese, sweet peppers, lettuce, tomato, mayo and mustard. Joe was pleased that there was a perfect amount of meat, but agreed the bread made the sub.

“Homemade and fresh (bread) can go a long way in turning a sub from ‘great’ to ‘super great,’” he said.

There was one thing on the menu that we tried that both Tyler and I weren’t particularly fond of: their personal-sized pizzas. These pizzas were baked sometime earlier that morning, and were just thrown into the display case or onto trays that sat on the counter for purchasing. Tyler and I split a cheese personal pizza, and it wasn’t anything special. The pizza was at room temperature, and was a little dry when it came to the amount of sauce.

“It just didn’t do anything for me,” Tyler explained.

To be fair, it would have tasted better if we had taken it home and reheated it like it’s probably meant to be. Also, there were a lot of interesting personal pizza choices. I’m sure that their full-sized pizzas are much better fresh out of the oven for pick-up orders. Next time we might have to try that, alongside their chicken wings, which are $.45 a piece. We have also heard good things about their stuffed bread, calzones and pastries, which we hope to try soon.

Joe described the restaurant as “a mix between modern day and old school,” and as weird as that sounds, I would have to agree with him. Martusciello’s is a nice place to sit down in and eat, and it’s easy to see why this is such a popular place.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: The service was extremely friendly. They make the wait time in line minimal and all the other costumers are genuinely happy about being there.

Food: Joe and I had great subs there and Tyler had great bread there. The personal-sized pizza, however, is slightly forgettable. I am definitely looking forward to trying out their hot pizzas though.

Value: Tyler puts it as “really good bread, cheap” and that isn’t too far off. The subs were cheap in price and very large. I definitely got a lot of bang for my buck because I brought the second half of my sub home, and I still couldn’t finish it in a second sitting.

Overall: If we are in Gates would we go here instead of going to General Hoock’s? Not often, but I can see us going back there again sometime to try out more of their food. It’s just unfortunate for us that Martusciello’s has such close proximity to Hoock's.

Grade: B+

(Menu picture courtesy of Urbanspoon)

RWG Road Trip: 2010 Taste of Buffalo

Visited July 10, 2010
Written by Tyler

Rochester Westside Grub hit the road last weekend and headed to the 27th annual Taste of Buffalo, the largest two-day food festival in the country. Fifty-six food vendors, six wineries and dozens of other promotional displays flooded the streets of downtown Buffalo on this hot, sunny weekend.

Greg, Joe and I attended last year and were very pleased by the variety and quality of food. Greg and I brought along Drew this year and the results were much of the same.

After the approximately 60-mile commute and a short subway ride, we strolled in to Buffalo and headed right for the food-ticket line. Each vendor has about five items available, usually ranging from three to eight tickets (a sheet of 10 tickets costs $5).

The ticket concept may seem asinine to an outsider, but it really is convenient. It speeds up the process and makes it easier than having to pull out debit cards or odd amounts of change every few minutes. The food is fresh and ready as soon as you make the quick ticket exchange at each booth.

Our first sampling was Texas-style chili from Fat Bob’s Smokehouse, a popular barbecue joint in Buffalo. I had a small-sized “taste” (three tickets) of the chili and enjoyed the few hearty bites I had. Greg ordered a larger seven-ticket sample and was blown away, ultimately declaring it the best of the many items he ate that day.

Greg: It was loaded with tasty ingredients, of which it had a very acceptable ratio of meat to veggies and had good texture and consistency. I made the mistake of putting too much Frank's Red Hot in it, making it a little hotter than I would have liked, but the chili's smoky barbeque flavors still came through with flying colors.

My personal favorite item of the day was the Smoked Bourbon Chicken Sandwich from Chester’s Cajun Grill in East Amherst.

The smoked chicken was chopped up and had a reddish color from its bourbon-based marinade. A tangy mustard-based sauce was the perfect partner for the chicken, and the sandwich’s contents blended together perfectly between its Kaiser roll. It was easily one of the best – and most unique – chicken sandwiches I have had, and I get them quite often.

Chester’s is highly regarded in western New York for all foods Cajun, and won “Best Overall Food” at the 2009 Taste. This year it won the “People’s Choice” award for its Blackened Shrimp over Cajun Rice, which also won the honor of “Best Seafood Item.”

Among other award winners, Rochester’s own Dinosaur Bar-B-Que won “Best Meat Item” for its pork sliders, which came as no surprise to us. For the record, Dinosaur was the only Rochester-area vendor.

One interesting item that had an authentic Buffalo twist on it was the Buffalo Wing Burger from Giacobbi’s Pizza and Pasta in Hamburg. Greg and Drew each sampled one – topped with bleu cheese and Buffalo wing sauce – but neither was too impressed.

Greg: The burger was kinda lame. It was good, well cooked and tasty, but nothing about it really expressed Buffalo wing-ness except for the weird bleu cheese concoction on it, which was a bit scant and lacked hotness.

Drew: I didn’t care for the Buffalo burger. I think I could use the concept, however, and create a new dish in (my) house.

Overall Drew was disappointed by the lack of chicken wings available. With that in mind, he said he enjoys the National Buffalo Wing Festival, held on Labor Day weekend in Buffalo, more than the Taste.

Greg dropped $30 on food and, needless to say, tried a lot of different things. His other favorite items included a Philly cheese steak from Buffalo-area chain Jim’s Steakout, and BBQ Meatloaf Sliders from BW’s Barbecue in Orchard Park.

Greg: The meat (on the cheese steak) was well cooked and there was an adequate amount, but the cheesy sauce was its crown jewel. It was cheesy, as a cheese steak should, but was also a little tangy and a tad sweet, having almost a Thousand Island-dressing sort of kick to it. However, the roll wasn't much to sneeze at, but that's the least important part of a Philly cheese steak.

“BBQ meatloaf is a rather novel idea and (BW’s) pulled it off well,” he added.

Greg also liked the Buffalo Chicken Wing Soup from Danny’s Restaurant in Cheektowaga.

“(It) was very tasty … adequately hot, but was a bit waterier than I would have liked and lacked ingredients, especially chicken,” he said.

There is a sample of what we sampled in Buffalo. In all it was a good experience, even though it was hot, crowded, an hour away, and some of us (Greg) took a hit in the wallet.

Actually, in my opinion, the prices weren’t bad, although I didn’t eat/spend nearly as much as Greg. But I can say that my chicken sandwich essentially cost only $3, and I would gladly pay more than twice that amount to eat one of those again.

The Taste wasn’t perfect, but it was something for us to do, enjoyable for the most part and it gave us ideas of where to eat whenever we are in the Buffalo area.

In conclusion, we agreed Buffalo tastes good.

North Chili Family Restaurant

4405 Buffalo Road, North Chili
Visited July 9, 2010
Written by Drew


(Image courtesy of rochester.metromix.com)

The week after Tyler’s birthday, Team Stealth celebrated my 18th birthday by traveling to previously uncharted territory for Rochester Westside Grub, as we headed to North Chili, just a few miles east of Churchville near the corner of routes 259 and 33.

A month or two ago, my family and I was in the area for my brother’s soccer game. We decided to stop before the game and get a bite to eat at the North Chili Family Restaurant, a Greek family-diner type. After eating my first meal there I definitely wanted to revisit it with the boys.

Team Stealth and friends are avid fans of the Hilton Family Restaurant (HFR), so going into our visit we were expecting much of the same from the NCFR.

We went on a Friday evening, the conclusion of the first week of work for Tyler, Ryan and I. I couldn’t think of a better way to end a week.

We pulled in to the parking lot and barely could find a spot. Unknowingly, we walked in on Fish Fry Friday. Even though the parking lot was almost full, we walked in and sat right now, taking the last open booth in the whole place.

After being seated, we were waited on by a nice waitress, who was very prompt considering the full dining room. She brought our drinks right out, and later complimentary baskets of warm rolls and butter, which were anything but the dry, boring bread many restaurants give out.

Looking at the very extensive menu, I had no idea what to order. Joe and Ryan ended up ordering NCFR’s version of garbage plates.

Tyler and I both ordered the grilled chicken dinner, consisting of one large grilled chicken breast (Tyler's looked like two separate medium-sized ones) along with two sides. I ordered French fries and home fries. Tyler also ordered the home fries but got applesauce also.

My piece of chicken was very good. Just the right amount of marinade. The chicken itself cut well and was juicy. It was one of the better pieces of meat I have had at a family restaurant.

Tyler said his was decent, but not spectacular. He said the marinade was different and was pleased by the portion size. He gobbled down the applesauce and was quite impressed by the home fries, saying NCFR’s version was right on par with HFR’s and were the best home fries he’s ever eaten outside of Hilton.

He added he was surprised breakfast wasn’t available when we went (or at least no breakfast items were on our menus), but was pleased grilled chicken was available, along with getting to sample to home fries.

As for the plates that Ryan and Joe ordered, there was a lot of food. These plates were HUGE, and the food was just piled up, with a very large piece of garlic bread on the side. Both had cheeseburger plates, with a side of home fries. As for their second side, Ryan got a side of French fries, and Joe went the more traditional route and ordered macaroni salad. They both agreed NCFR’s plates were among the best plates they have had.

“That plate I had was one of the better ratios of home fry to meat,” Ryan explained.

Joe ordered a strawberry milkshake, which he enjoyed because of its thickness.

Anyway, just to recap, all four of us ordered a side of home fries. In my opinion they were very good; it was almost unnecessary to add salt and pepper to them. They had great flavor, with a good balance of crisp and soft throughout. We agreed they were very comparable to our favorite home fries, those of HFR.

All in all it was a pleasant surprise; a great place to go out and eat. We will probably stop at NCFR again if we’re in the Churchville-Chili area.

Ratings:
Service/Atmosphere: This place was PACKED! Despite this, we didn’t have to wait long to be waited on, and our food came out easily five minutes faster than we thought it would. Very convenient location if you are headed down 259 or 33. NCFR makes you feel at home, which is exactly what you want from a ‘family restaurant.’

Food: Standard diner fare, for the most part. One of the better chicken dinners I have had. Joe and Ryan were quite pleased with their plates. The baskets of warm rolls were a great compliment.

Value: The prices were very low and the portions were large. You can’t go wrong with ordering from any type of family restaurant.

Overall: A pleasant surprise. Before we left, I had very little doubt that we would have a lot of stuff to talk about for the restaurant. Upon leaving, I was very glad we spent my birthday weekend at a very decent restaurant, where waitressing made the meal.

Grade: B